Description
This Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting recipe is a luscious and creamy frosting bursting with real strawberry flavor made from fresh, frozen, or freeze-dried strawberries. Perfectly sweet and smooth, it’s ready in just 10 minutes and ideal for cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and other desserts.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup strawberry puree (made from fresh or frozen strawberries) or 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream or evaporated milk
- 5 to 6 cups powdered sugar
Optional Add-Ins
- 4 strawberries, finely diced
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon strawberry extract, to boost flavor
- ¼ to 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- Red food coloring, for a more vibrant pink
Instructions
- Make Strawberry Puree: If using fresh or frozen strawberries, rinse, pat dry, remove stems, and blend 6 to 8 berries until smooth to make about ⅓ cup puree. For freeze-dried strawberries, pulverize in a blender or food processor and sift to remove chunks if needed.
- Cream the Butter: In the bowl of an electric or stand mixer, beat the softened butter until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Combine Ingredients: Add strawberry puree or strawberry powder, salt, 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, and any optional extracts to the butter. Beat again to combine thoroughly.
- Add Powdered Sugar: Gradually add powdered sugar 1 to 2 cups at a time on low speed, scraping bowl sides as needed. Once all sugar is added, beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Adjust Flavor and Consistency: Taste the frosting and add more salt or extracts in small increments if needed. Adjust thickness by adding more powdered sugar if too thin or more heavy cream/strawberry puree if too thick. Freeze-dried strawberry powder versions typically require more heavy cream.
- Fold in Diced Strawberries: If desired, gently fold in finely diced strawberries to add texture and bursts of fresh fruit flavor.
- Use or Store: Use immediately to frost cakes, cupcakes, or cookies. Alternatively, store properly as per storage notes for later use.
Notes
- Yield: Enough to frost up to 28 cupcakes or a 3-layer cake; halve the batch for a 9×13 sheet cake.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container with plastic wrap pressed on top to prevent drying and crust formation.
- Make Ahead: Refrigerate up to 7 days. Soften at room temperature for 1 hour and rebeat before use.
- Fresh Strawberry Frosting: Keep at room temperature up to 1 day or refrigerate up to 7 days if made with evaporated milk. Always refrigerate if using heavy cream.
- Freeze-Dried Strawberry Frosting: Room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 7 days with evaporated milk. Always refrigerate if using heavy cream.
- Freezing: Freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator and rebeat before use.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: strawberry buttercream frosting, strawberry frosting, buttercream frosting, dessert frosting, gluten free frosting, cake frosting, cupcake frosting, no bake frosting
